WO2003040012A1 - Device and method for winding protective films provided in the form of a coreless reel - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a device and method for winding protective films onto a reel shaft for producing an, in particular, sorted coreless film reel, whereby the reel shaft contains at least two tubular segments (3) that, between them, define an ample space (11) and a radially inner interior space (14) and can be radially displaced with regard to one another. The reel shaft also contains at least one cone (1) that can be repeatedly introduced into and retracted from the interior space (14) at one end. The cone displaces the tubular segments (3), whereby supporting profiles are respectively placed inside the space (11) between the tubular segments (3) and each can also be displaced inwards and outwards by the at least one cone (1). The invention is advantageous in that the slots formed in the peripheral direction between the tubular segments when the reel shaft radially expands are filled by the respective supporting profiles whereby enabling the reel shaft to exhibit a good level of resistance to bending even in the event of high winding forces and, in addition, to form a closed surface. A first embodiment has two cones (1) each of which being able to be repeatedly introduced into and retracted from the interior space (14) of the tubular segments at one end. A second embodiment has only one cone and a cylindrical pivot ring in lieu of the other cone, whereby only the cone can be repeatedly introduced into and retracted from the interior space of the tubular segments at one end. The cylindrical pivot ring, however, is connected to the tubular segments and to the supporting profiles that are rotationally coupled at that location.

Description

 Device and method for winding protective films in

Form of a coreless wrap

The present invention relates to an apparatus and a method for winding protective films in the form of a coreless winding. Protective films of this type are used in sandwich-type photopolymer films and are used in the graphics industry and the printed circuit board industry for lamination, as well as for protection as exposure. The protective films are peeled off during lamination and / or after exposure and generally occur as waste and therefore winding up in the form of a coreless wrap is proposed according to the invention.

Protective films wound in this way can be wound onto a specially designed winding shaft with extruded and / or drawn profiles. The winding diameter can be reduced so much that the so-called winding can be removed from the winding shaft, which has a reduced diameter, without cutting it.

Such a coreless winding of this type can be fed into a recycling system in the sense of a reusable system with a small volume and without the formation of tinsel by means of a cutting process.

The construction of this new type of winding shaft is also modular so that an inexpensive replacement of existing winding shafts with regard to diameter and length and axis or shaft construction is made possible.

EP 0 610 591 (Du Pont de Nemours, Stüwe at al) describes a printing auxiliary device, in particular for testing printing samples, such as the so-called cromalin method, a color test method from Du Pont de Nemours, for the thin one sandwich-like films are removed from a supply roll and the protective layer is removed from the polymerizable layer before it enters the nip. This protective layer or this auxiliary portion of the film after separation from the useful portion is not wound onto a carrier core made of cardboard or plastic, for example by means of adhesive tape, but rather on a winding shaft with a variable outside diameter. For winding, the outer diameter is increased and when the winding is finished, the diameter of the winding shaft is reduced again, which makes it possible to pull the winding shaft out of the winding. In a preferred embodiment, the winding shaft has at least two tube segments whose distance from the winding shaft axis can be changed by means of a cone.

DE 42 21 703 (Anger Electronic; Moser et al) describes a method and a device for removing protective films from plate-shaped objects on one or both sides, the protective film in an advantageous embodiment in the attracted starting area on the guide sword with the end area of a preceding, already removed protective film is thermally connected without foreign elements and is fed to a rewinder where the protective film is formed into coreless coils.

In the case of new types of applications in the field of dry film lamination in the printed circuit board industry or in the removal of protective films from exposed printed circuit boards and other applications, the protective films must be wound up with a relatively strong tension.

High forces occur on the tube segments normally used in the enlarged state. On the one hand, these increased forces cause the tube segments to bend slightly and thus to form folds in the protective film wrap and thus to an uneven diameter, which again leads to different tensile forces across the protective film to be wound up and thus negatively influences the respective lamination process or protective film peeling process.

In addition to this deflection due to the high pressing forces on the pipe segments, the removal of the coreless winding from the winding shaft with a smaller diameter becomes much more critical. Protective film elements are often clamped in the intermediate areas of the tube segments with an enlarged diameter when the diameter is reduced, and then the coreless winding can no longer be removed from the winding shaft with a reduced diameter without the aid of a knife and the cutting.

When cutting, however, the known problems of tinsel formation occur, which leads to severe quality problems and an increase in rejects.

The invention is therefore based on the object of developing a winding shaft of the type mentioned in such a way that it shows good resistance to deflection even under strong winding forces and, moreover, forms a closed surface.

To achieve the object, the invention is characterized by the technical teaching of claim 1.

An essential feature of the invention is that support profiles are arranged in the space between the tube segments known per se, which can be moved radially in and out.

With the given technical teaching there is the essential advantage that the circumferential direction in the prior art now differs between the Pipe segments in the radial expansion of the winding shaft-forming slots according to the invention are filled with corresponding support profiles.

Support profiles of this type can in particular be support strips which are still profiled in a special way.

In this case, it is preferred if, in the operating position, the support profile fills the space between the tube segments in a relatively slot-filling manner. However, the invention is not limited to this; small gaps can also be provided in the slots.

In particular, the support profiles are profiled in such a way that they are secured against falling out of the slots in the radial direction.

For this purpose, it is preferred if each support profile has a radially outer, narrower extension which, seen radially inwardly, merges into a wider inner part, which thus protects the support profile against radial falling out of the slot between the tube segments.

The support profiles can be formed from any material that has a correspondingly high rigidity. Such a material can be a metal material, in particular stainless steel alloys, aluminum alloys, a cast material, but also plastic reinforced with glass fiber and the like.

The support profiles filling the slots protect the winding shaft in connection with the tube segments against deflection in two different ways. When such protective films are wound up with a high winding speed and high winding force, the winding shaft initially bends like a double-sided bending rod, ie it hangs downwards. This prevents wrinkle-free winding of the protective film. Here the invention offers an excellent solution to this problem.

However, due to the high winding forces that are transmitted to the winding shaft, the tube segments also tend to have a central, radially inward deflection. This results in a cross-sectional shape of the winding shaft in the form of a so-called "diabolo" and the support profiles according to the invention counteract this deformation of the winding shaft.

It is preferred here if the support profiles are supported at their two ends on the respective cones.

In this way, the support profiles also transmit high forces to the cones, just like the pipe segments themselves.

According to a development of the present invention, the further advantage is that the support profiles located in the slot of the tube segments make the slot there so small that it is also suitable for clamping the beginning of the film (start of winding). This results in an extremely favorable solution for holding the start of the winding. No other external support is required, such as. B. magnetic strips, adhesive surfaces and the like.

In addition, the pinch is automatically released when the cone is pulled out with the aim of pulling the entire reel from the winding shaft. This also means that the pinched end of the winding is automatically released at the same time. In the following, the invention will be explained in more detail with reference to drawings showing several possible embodiments. Further features and advantages of the invention are evident from the drawings and their description.

Show it:

Figure 1: longitudinal section through a first embodiment of the

Winding shaft in working condition;

Figure 1a: front view of the winding shaft of Figure 1 with removed

Cone;

FIG. 2: the longitudinal section according to FIG. 1 shortly before the winding is removed;

Figure 2a: end view of the winding shaft of Figure 2 with removed

Cone;

Figure 3: schematically the clamping of a film on the winding shaft in

Clamping state;

Figure 3a: schematically the same representation as Figure 3 in

Withdrawal state;

Figure 4: Cross section along the line IV-IV in Figure 1;

Figure 5: longitudinal section through a second embodiment of a

Winding shaft in working condition; Figure 6: Longitudinal section through the winding shaft according to Figure 5 just before

Removal of the wrap;

FIG. 7 end view of the winding shaft according to FIG. 5; FIG. 8 end view of the winding shaft according to FIG. 6; Figure 9 section along the line Vlll-Vlll in Figure 5.

According to the invention, instead of the tube segments according to the prior art, shaped and / or extruded and / or drawn profiles with at least two cylindrical surface elements, so-called profiled tube segments 3, are proposed. Preferably three to four, but in particular three profiled pipe segments 3 are used, which between them the same number of supporting, rigid bends

Additional profile elements, so-called support profiles 2 can accommodate, which can be moved radially out of and into the interior 14 of the winding shaft.

In the radially expanded state, the flanks of the support profiles 2 fit exactly into the spaces between the tube segments 3 and therefore these flanks are designed with a clearance angle of a few degrees (typically 3 °). This clearance angle is intended to prevent self-locking when reducing the diameter by removing at least one cone 1 and has to be adapted to the choice of material, the surface properties and the number of pipe segments 3.

In a basic version, a cone 1 is arranged on both sides of the tube segments 3 and the support profiles 2. In a further embodiment, a cone 1 can also be arranged on only one side and a cylindrical element is arranged on the other side, which enables at least a pivoting of the pipe segments 3 and the support profiles 2 at the other end from an expanded diameter to a reduced diameter.

In a development of the embodiment, the tube segments 3 and the support profiles 2 are dimensioned such that these elements are self-supporting in connection with at least one cone 1 and a second cone 1 or a cylindrical element without an axis or shaft. Spring elements in the interior of the tube segments 3 bring about the cohesion in connection with the support profiles 2 and the lateral elements.

In detail, FIG. 1 shows two oppositely directed cones 1, which form the interior 14 of a winding shaft between them. The cones 1 are of exactly the same rotational symmetry, so that the description of a single part is sufficient.

Each cone 1 here forms two inclined surfaces 7, 8 which are offset from one another by a stop 6. The stop 6 is in this case formed by a receptacle 16 (FIG. 4) in which the front end of the respective support profile 2 is received.

Each support profile 2 consists of a radially outer outer part 12 with a reduced width and a wider radially inner inner part 13 which, because of its increased width, prevents the support profile 2 from falling out of the slot 11 radially outward.

The pipe segments 3 shown in the figures form slots 11 between them, through which the corresponding support profile 2 engages with its respective outer part 12.

The tube segments 3 themselves are held together in tension by spring elements 4 located radially in the interior 14, so that the corresponding walls of the tube segments 3 are relatively non-positively and positively on the side walls of the outer part 12 of the support profile 2 in the expanded state of the support profiles 2 (see in particular figures 1a and 6).

Due to this resilient contact of the outer parts 12 of the support profiles 2 to the pipe segments 3, it is also possible to clamp the beginning of a film 5 into the still existing slot 11, which therefore is spring-loaded due to the spring elements 4 in the slot 11 in the space between the outer part 12 and the assigned wall of the respective pipe segment 3 is held. In the operating state, the winding shaft according to FIG. 1 is driven to rotate in a manner not shown. To facilitate handling, external ring grooves 10 are arranged on each cone. A shaft can extend through the central center bore 9 of the cones 1. This shaft can also be polygonal to ensure that the cones 1 are driven in rotation.

But it can also be designed as a cylinder axis on which the two cones 1 and the tube segments 3 rotate.

It is important that when the two cones 1 are pulled out in the direction of the arrow 15, the outer tube segment 3 now slides along the outer inclined surface 8, while the support profile 2 slides along the other inclined surface 7 of the respective cone 1.

The stop 6 is formed by the receptacle 16.

During the transition from the operating position according to FIG. 1 to the release position according to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3a, it can be seen that the support profiles 3 are each displaced radially inward and rest on the associated contact surfaces 19 of the cones 1. So you are secured against radial falling inwards into the interior 14.

At the same time, with the radially inward displacement of the support profiles 2, the wider slot 11 will also merge into the narrower slot 11 'because the tube segments 3 close in a spring-loaded manner. The entire winding shaft therefore takes up a small outside diameter. The resultant slot 11 'frees the beginning of the film 5 (FIG. 3a) and the coil formed on the outer circumference of the tube segments 3 can now be easily removed, thereby forming a coreless coil which can be easily disposed of. In FIGS. 5 to 8, the same parts are provided with the same reference numerals as in FIGS. 1 to 4. In contrast to FIGS. 1 to 4, however, there are not two cones 1 lying opposite one another, but the cone 1 is an approximately cylindrical one Swivel ring 17 opposite. On the swivel ring 17 (see FIG. 8) there are one ends of the support profile 2 and in each case also offset one end of the

Pipe segments 3 each pivotally mounted on pivot axes 18, 20.

The support profiles 2 are in this case pivotally mounted on the pivot rings 17 on the pivot axes 18, while the tube segments 3 are each pivotally supported on the pivot ring 17 on the pivot axes 20.

By pulling out one cone 8 in the direction of arrow 15, the state according to FIG. 7 is again obtained. The tube segments 3 and the support profiles 2 each pivot obliquely inwards on their pivot axes 18, 20 and the coil formed on the outer circumference of the tube segment 3 can simply be removed Here, too, it is easily possible to use the slit 11 'or 11 which forms to clamp a film 5.

In summary, the invention relates to a device and a

Method for winding foils onto a winding shaft for the production of an in particular single-core coreless foil winding, wherein the winding shaft contains at least two tube segments which define a circumferential space between them and a radially inner interior and which are radially displaceable relative to one another.

The winding shaft further includes at least one cone that can be repeatedly inserted and executed in the interior, which causes the radial displacement of the tubular segments radially outward, with supporting profiles in the circumferential space between the tubular segments are arranged, which can also be moved radially outwards via the at least one cone. The tube segments and the support profiles are preferably returned via spring elements in the interior of the winding shaft.

The advantage here is that the slots formed in the prior art in the circumferential direction between the tube segments during the radial expansion of the winding shaft according to the invention are filled with corresponding support profiles, so that the winding shaft shows good resistance to bending even with strong winding forces and additionally forms a closed surface.

A first embodiment provides for two cones, which can be inserted and executed repeatedly on the front side in the interior of the tube segments. A second embodiment provides only a cone and instead of the other cone a cylindrical swivel ring, whereby only the cone can be repeatedly inserted and executed on the front side into the interior of the pipe segments, the cylindrical swivel ring, however, is connected to the pipe segments and the support profiles, which can be rotated there are articulated.

Zeichnungsleqende

cone

support profile

pipe segment

spring element

foil

attack

sloping surface

sloping surface

center bore

ring groove

slot

slot

outer part

inner part

inner space

arrow

admission

swivel

swivel axis

bearing surface

swivel axis

Claims

claims 1.Device for winding foils (5) onto a winding shaft for the production of an in particular single-core coreless foil winding, the winding shaft containing at least two tube segments (3) which have a circumferential space (11, 11 ') and a radially inner interior ( 14) and which are radially displaceable relative to one another and wherein the winding shaft further includes at least one displacement means (1, 4) acting in the interior (14) for the radial displacement of the pipe segments (3), characterized in that in the circumferential intermediate space (11, 11 ') support profiles (2) are arranged between the pipe segments (3), which are also radially movable via the at least one displacement means (1, 4). 2. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that three Pipe segments (3) and three support profiles (2) which can be introduced into their respective circumferential intermediate space (11, 11 ') are provided. 3. Device according to one of claims 1 or 2, characterized in that the displacement means (1, 4) contain two cones (1), each of which can be repeatedly inserted and executed on the end face into the interior (14) of the tube segments (3), whereby the tube segments (3) and the support elements (2) are moved radially outwards when the cones (1) are inserted into the interior (14). 4. Device according to one of claims 1 or 2, characterized in that a cone (1) and a swivel ring (17) are provided, with only the cone (1) on the end face in the interior (14) of the tubular segments (3) repeatedly - and is executable, the cylindrical swivel ring (17), on the other hand, is connected to the tube segments (3) and the support profiles (2), which are pivotably articulated there. 5. Device according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the displacement means (1, 4) in the interior (14) include elastic spring elements (4), via which the tube segments (3) are connected to each other, which Spring elements (4) bring the pipe segments (3) back radially inwards. 6. The device according to claim 5, characterized in that the swivel ring (17) is approximately cylindrical and has approximately the same diameter as the expanded winding shaft in the state of use. 7. Device according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the spaces (11, 11 ') through the Support profiles (2) are at least partially filled in the expanded usage situation. 8. Device according to one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the spaces (11, 11 ') by the Support profiles (2) are essentially completely filled out in the expanded usage situation. 9. Device according to one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the support profiles (2) in the expanded Use position with the tube segments (3) form a substantially closed radially outer surface on which the film roll is wound. 10. Device according to one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that the radially outer surface of the radially outer extension (12) of the support profile (2) has approximately the same cylindrical shape as that of the tubular segments (3). 11. The device according to one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that the support profiles (2) are profiled such that they are secured against falling out of the slots in the radial direction to the outside. 12. The device according to one of claims 1 to 11, characterized in that the support profiles (2) are strip-shaped and approximately T-shaped in cross section and have a radially outer, narrower extension (12) and a radially inner, wider extension (13). 13. The device according to one of claims 1 to 12, characterized in that the support profiles (2) do not extend over the entire length of the tube segments (3), but each end in front of the end faces of the tube segments (3). 14. Device according to one of claims 1 to 13, characterized in that the contact surfaces of the support profiles (2) to the contact surfaces of the tube segments (3) have an angle difference between 0.1 ° and 10 °, so that self-locking is prevented and Support profiles (2) by the radially inward force of the Springs (4) of the tube segments (3) fall radially inward when the at least one cone (1) is brought out of the interior (14). 15. Device according to one of claims 1 to 14, characterized in that the support profiles (2) and / or the tube segments (3) are formed from metal and / or plastic reinforced with glass fiber. 16. The device according to one of claims 1 to 15, characterized in that the tube segments (3) are bent from sheet metal parts. 17. The device according to one of claims 1 to 16, characterized in that the support profiles (2) and / or the tube segments (3) are electrically grounded. 18. Device according to one of claims 1 to 17, characterized in that the at least one cone (1) has at least two inclined surfaces (7, 8), the tubular segments (3) on the radially outer inclined surface (8) and on the radial inner inclined surface (7) the support profiles (2) rest and be guided in the event of radial displacement. 19. Device according to one of claims 1 to 18, characterized in that in the intermediate space (11, 11 ') between at least one of the tube segments (3) and the associated one Support profile (2) the end of the film (5) to be wound can be clamped into the position of use by radial displacement. 20. Device according to one of claims 1 to 19, characterized in that the at least one cone (1) has an approximately central longitudinal bore (9) through which a shaft can be carried out, which the interior (14) of the tube segments (3) Grips through the winding shaft and thus supports the entire winding shaft. 21. A method for winding films (5) by means of the device according to one of claims 1 to 20, characterized in that the winding shaft is prepared and wound by the following steps for winding: a) threading the film (5) into the intermediate space (11 '), with the support profiles (2) not located in the intermediate space (11'); b) inserting at least one of the cones (1) into the interior (14) of the winding shaft until it is fully expanded and the support profiles (2) are located in the intermediate space (11); c) winding the expanded winding shaft with the film (5) by coupling with a motor and rotation; d) decoupling of the winding shaft from the motor after the expanded winding shaft has been wound with the film (5); e) leading at least one of the cones (1) out of the interior (14) of the winding shaft until it is completely radially reduced and the support profiles (2) are no longer in the space (11); f) pulling off the finished wound film (5) as a film roll from the winding shaft.